Hello to everyone

[kevinr]

Hi to everyone. I am a newbie called Kevin I have just had my 67th birthday I retired 1 years ago before I had health issues and I was working I have had a few jobs my main job that I loved was working on the furnaces and heavy hot forging. But I was also a shunter a great job in the summer but horrendous in the winter I worked on a internal railway in a big steel firm we had to move 750 ton steel ingots to the heavy forge for forging into crankshafts, rotor shafts and other forgings. I am a avid collector on music from heavy Metal to heavy Rock and Rock and Roll to classical and opera. I also love playing train simulator on my ps4 I am never off it but it helps to pass the time and it's quite hard at times controlling the big American locomotives with freight.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Kevin, welcome to the forum.

Wow, what a beauty that train is! Sounds like you keep yourself nice and busy now having had a great career.

How are you getting on with your diabetes? It can be a bit overwhelming at the begining but do feel free to share a bit about your journey and how you're getting on.

We've got a wealth of info on the site so do have a poke around and ask any questions you may have.

 

[kevinr]

I found out that I had got type 2 Diabetes when my old neighbour had to get the paramedics out to me that was 8 years ago I couldn't walk with my left leg but I was constantly drinking tea, water, fizzy pop, coffee it got that bad that I use to just sit in the loo all the time. What I drank just kept coming out and with having a bad leg it just seemed the right thing to do. I was asked if I was a Diabetic by the paramedics and I said no why, well your glucose level is sitting at 21.5 and you are drinking a lot of fluid. I found out later that I had got 3 blood clots in my left leg hence that's why I couldn't walk with it. The consultant who was looking after me in the hospital confirmed that I was type 2 Diabetic, that answered a lot of questions that I wanted to know and I then realised why I always was feeling thirsty even at work I thought it was due to me being on the big furnaces and hot Forging, out of a 12 hour shift I spent about 6 hours in and out of the loo I told my work mates that I had got a bladder infection that's why I kept going to the loo.

 

[Drummer]

Oh hello there.
My dad used to work for Sammy Foxes in Sheffield and checked out the loads which went out by rail from there.
They did a lot of specialist steels back then - molybdenum steel for the rockets made by NASA. He got to send off the second half ingot - the first one was sent out with much fanfare and it 'got lost'.
My brother in law is a modeller - he has a wonderful layout, but it all looks used - so there are dirty marks on the doors, the seats are worn, a few broken things lie around and there are tiny coffee rings from years of tiny mugs on desks, and half eaten sandwiches.
I hope that you are now getting more normal numbers and have recovered from the blood clots.

 

[kevinr]

Wow now that's a name I haven't heard in quite a while Sammy Foxes I use to work on the railway in Firth Browns and being a dedicated railway enthusiast I absolutely loved my job and moving heavy forgings to the heavy machine shops or heat treatment. Every day was different on the railway we was delivering a 600 ton crankshaft to the machine shop this was in the winter time the under hand shunter went and put the shutter door up ready to move the crankshaft in but some bright spark closed the door as they said it was too cold to leave it open. We reversed straight through the shutter door, they didn't complain anymore after that. I have had a bad night due to stomach problems spent most of the night being sick and got the runs I checked my glucose level about 30 minutes ago and it was sitting at 8.4 in which I am happy as I hate having a hypo.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @kevinr

I am glad that your diabetes has been picked up as this now gives you a chance to make changes to help you bring your glucose levels down.

Let us know how you are getting on with your management now.

 

[Drummer]

I have had a bad night due to stomach problems spent most of the night being sick and got the runs I checked my glucose level about 30 minutes ago and it was sitting at 8.4 in which I am happy as I hate having a hypo.

Is it down to the heat or something you ate?
My insides were always very robust until I took Metformin for a few weeks. I think all the valves were overtaxed and pulled out of shape. One reason I can stick to my way of eating is the thought of being pushed to take Metformin again.

 

[kevinr]

Is it down to the heat or something you ate?
My insides were always very robust until I took Metformin for a few weeks. I think all the valves were overtaxed and pulled out of shape. One reason I can stick to my way of eating is the thought of being pushed to take Metformin again.

I use to take metformin but it kept giving me upset stomach so my Diabetic consultant took me off it and put me on Trulicity Insulin. My biggest downfall is I can't cook so I live on toast, pizza, homemade chips and oven chips, tins of Salmon sometimes burgers and bacon cooked on my grill not the grill on the cooker. I have the only wheelie bin in our street that as got ulcers through my cooking I cook like the devil every meal I make is a burnt offering.

 

[Leadinglights]

I use to take metformin but it kept giving me upset stomach so my Diabetic consultant took me off it and put me on Trulicity Insulin. My biggest downfall is I can't cook so I live on toast, pizza, homemade chips and oven chips, tins of Salmon sometimes burgers and bacon cooked on my grill not the grill on the cooker. I have the only wheelie bin in our street that as got ulcers through my cooking I cook like the devil every meal I make is a burnt offering.

I'm afraid the foods you mention are not going to do you any favours in terms of being able to get your blood glucose levels down apart from the tin of salmon, bacon and burgers everything is very high carb.
You might find investing in a slow cooker where you can just bung everything in and let it get on with it or a steamer where you can do fresh vegetables. Salads and cooked meats are something fairly fool proof. Boiled eggs and cheese are good options as is full fat greek yoghurt with berries. Nuts and seeds make good addition to the yoghurt.

 

[kevinr]

I bought myself a slow cooker but I don't know what to put in it I would like to cook rabbit in it but the price of rabbit in Scotland and where I live is shocking £8.50 per rabbit. I am not a great nut lover but I have thought about turning to be a vegetarian as the amount of processed meat I go through is a joke. I use love making porridge but it always comes out like concrete now. I could do with a cookbook that's got easy recipes in it that I won't **** up and the finished product would look how it should and not a plate of Eten mess.

 

[Leadinglights]

I bought myself a slow cooker but I don't know what to put in it I would like to cook rabbit in it but the price of rabbit in Scotland and where I live is shocking £8.50 per rabbit. I am not a great nut lover but I have thought about turning to be a vegetarian as the amount of processed meat I go through is a joke. I use love making porridge but it always comes out like concrete now. I could do with a cookbook that's got easy recipes in it that I won't **** up and the finished product would look how it should and not a plate of Eten mess.

You can put any sort of meat in your slow cooker, with some vegetables, I find it need less liquid than you might think.
Because many vegetarian meals are based on things like pasta, rice, and pulses it is harder to keep to low carbohydrates although many people do manage a low carb vegetarian diet, it is not as easy if you are not confident at cooking. You still need to find a way of having enough protein without the high carbs which is what you are getting from meat and fish.
I have a book Low carb Revolution by Annie Bell, simple recipes. You could look on the internet for low carb slow cooker recipes to give you some ideas.
Once you find things you like and work well then double up on quantity and freeze some for another time.
There is a recipe thread on here as well which may give you ideas.
It's what it tastes like, not what it looks like that matters.

 

[Felinia]

Hi Kevin and welcome. My late brother built a forge in his garden and would spend hours making all sorts of things. I have wind chimes and a ulu (a type of chopper) he made for me. He was a member of Purgatory Ironworks, a US based website.

Simple recipe for a slow cooker. Get a pack of casserole vegetables and chop them (or a couple of carrots, turnip, swede, onion). Get a pack of diced beef or chicken. Chuck in the cooker with a stock cube and half a pint of water (or one of those seasoning packs which say they are for slow cookers). Turn on low and leave for at least 8 hours. OR get a pack of frozen casserole vegetables and the same pack of meat. Chuck in a large saucepan with the liquid and seasonings. Bring to boil, turn down to a very low heat, cover and leave to simmer. Stir every 30 minutes until meat is tender. (you can also do this in a casserole dish in the oven.)

Get 30gm porridge and 175ml milk/water/almond milk. Mix together and leave to soak overnight. Heat the following day, stirring, and take off before it reaches the concrete stage. I sweeten with a little Truvia or blueberries.

Soup. Get various packs of prepared vegetables ie carrot/swede; squash/sweet potato; prepared green beans; tin of haricot/cannellini/butter beans; diced onion; cabbage/leek; tin of tomatoes; squirt of tomato puree; pint of water. Chuck all (except green beans, cabbage/leek) in a large soup pan. Bring to boil, turn down, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add other ingredients 10 minutes before the end.

As you can gather, I'm a lazy cook, but use fresh vegetables. There are cookbooks out there for slow cookers. Best wishes.

 

[kevinr]

Thank you Felinia. I will give it a go this weekend it's about time I used my slow cooker and a vegetable stew with chicken or beef sounds scrumptious. My Foster mum when she was alive she was a cook in a firm in South Yorkshire and she use to make a dish which had a layer of potatoes then a layer of onion and so on. I should have paid more attention to what she said to me about cooking but being young I said cooking is for women and not men. Oh how I wished I had listened to mum now there is one thing I can cook and that is Yorkshire Pudding when I cook it in my big roasting tin it comes out really high and golden, that's when my mint sauce comes in to play.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you Felinia. I will give it a go this weekend it's about time I used my slow cooker and a vegetable stew with chicken or beef sounds scrumptious. My Foster mum when she was alive she was a cook in a firm in South Yorkshire and she use to make a dish which had a layer of potatoes then a layer of onion and so on. I should have paid more attention to what she said to me about cooking but being young I said cooking is for women and not men. Oh how I wished I had listened to mum now there is one thing I can cook and that is Yorkshire Pudding when I cook it in my big roasting tin it comes out really high and golden, that's when my mint sauce comes in to play.

My son in law had never cooked in his life but now cooks most of the time for the family and is really good, mostly curries as he is from Pakistan but other stuff as well.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

My Foster mum when she was alive she was a cook in a firm in South Yorkshire and she use to make a dish which had a layer of potatoes then a layer of onion and so on.

That kind of thing is easy enough. You can add layers of cheese if you like. Or a bit of tomato. Some herbs.

My grandmother was really good at cooking, but my mum was never really interested. Mum was really worried when she was about to get married, since she had no idea how to cook. Her mother pointed out that there were many books...

And nowadays things are even easier since we have google, YouTube, etc.

 

[Drummer]

I have a fair few kitchen toys which are very handy.
The Tefal actifry is an old one, but great for chicken thighs. I put in a whole pack of them and set it going. They become crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I take them out and keep the ones I am going to use at once warm, put some stir fry in the actifry (I took it out of the freezer before starting to cook the chicken so it is fairly thawed) then I cook it in the chicken juice.
I might have some of the chicken for breakfast next day, maybe put some into a stew with mixed veges from the freezer, and maybe cut up some swede and boil it then mash it.
Another thing I make is cauliflower cheese - put a dish in the oven at about 160 degrees centigrade. Cook some cauliflower (I steam it because I can, but boiling is good, just be sure to let it drain then squash it gently to get the water out) Pile it in the warm dish, then cover it with cream cheese, add any herb or spice you like, then put grated cheese on top - I like Red Leicester. Put the dish back into the oven. You might need to experiment a bit with the temperature, but you want the cheese to go a bit melty and be very lightly tanned. People who are not even diabetic have said how good it is.
Low carb cooking is really easy, and the right toys make it very simple.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Making good yorkshires is an art in itself @kevinr

Hope the slow cooker meal comes out well 🙂

 

[kevinr]

My slow cooked meal was a disaster I have not been feeling great these past few days feeling dizzy and very light headed quite shaky sweating a hell of a lot. I still don't know what's wrong with me it could be low blood pressure or high blood pressure as my glucose levels are sitting comfortably now. My meter readings up to yesterday was 8.5 which is a lot better than 2.8 and 3.6 as the readings were on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am drifting off the point I set up the slow cooker on high first then I was going to lower it to the low setting after about 60 minutes but because I am not 100% feeling good I fell asleep and was asleep for about 3 hours when I woke up to the smell of burning I went into my kitchen to see my slow cooker was not looking good so everything went in the bin the meal and the slow cooker. I have just bought a brand new slow cooker a Breville with a safety cut out on it so I am going to try again with a slow cooked meal.

 

[Felinia]

Hi Kevin
Sorry it didn't work out. I always start on low, and only put it up to medium towards the end if the meat is still not fall apart tender. I never use the high setting. I also set a ping timer!!!!!

 

[kevinr]

Thank you Felinia. I will let you know how things turn out if it's a success I shall be over the moon and I will be able to use the slow cooker again and again.